Science and Religion 5: The Hybrid and the Hero
Sorry about the wall of text. Fucking Firefox is screwing me right over, and it seems now I can only post on the old site, and by using internet explorer. Therefore- I'm fucked when the old site is removed. I might have to make Paul my posting bitch, even.
Sumieri's head lifts from her food. She still has some left, but she lifts her head, cocking it a bit.
"What's wrong?" I lean forwards on one knee, bending sideways to see her at eye level. Her lips remain static in reply, but her eyes dart about the area immediately before her like she's tracking something very quickly.
"Something is here." Her last word barely registers as her elegant blue body whips around in a blurry 360, padded paws skidding across the ground with immaculate dexterity and balance as she suddenly flies from her usual, smooth and calmly flowing self into something much different, much sharper and more agile.
Before I have a chance to utter a single vowel, I see her attack. For the first time.
The air around us just rips with a wild, spontaneous energy, wind whipping from the calm and slicing it with a shrill and ambient buzz as her maw stretches open. Wind seems to rush into her gullet with a hiss and her eyes light up with a dangerous glint of red I've never seen, and a single speck of pure, untainted blue shimmers into life between her rows of vicious sharp fangs.
I stagger back, blinded by the crest upon her head flashing with colour and illuminating the darkness with a sharp azure glow. I am rendered breathless as the speck grows wider into a sphere in her mouth, churning and spinning around at an incredible speed, seeming to stir the wind with it, then it all releases. She throws her mouth open wider as the sphere bursts away from her, screaming towards a nearby tree as all the wind seems to surge forth with it.
The top half of the tree literally explodes as the water pulse hits it. The topmost branches are just shattered by the blast with a giant crack, shredded into thousands of fragments and chips and blowing all over the place with force enough that I raise my arms in defence as the pieces strike and dig into my skin, slashing and stinging.
"Cario!" A short cry pertains from a nearby bush somewhere succeeding a low thud and the rustle of leaves distinguishable under the light pattering of bark shrapnel pelting the ground. Sumieri's head snaps to it, and with stunning speed she flies at it, diving clear through a bush at the source and disappearing from sight.
"Hold on, Sumieri!" I call after her in a panic, recognising the cry and sprinting towards it.
"You! Who are you?" She barks as I dash around the cover of a tall bush. Dev's paws are frantically tugging Sumieri's leg, pulling with all his strength to tear her forepaw off his throat to gain a precious breath of air as he kicks and bucks under her. "Answer cretan, or I kill you where you lie!"
"Aarghgaagh..." Dev gurgles against her paw crushing his windpipe, arms falling limp in their struggle as his energy falls and his eyes flicker shut weakly.
"Let go!" I yell as I sprint for her. She lifts her paw casually, and takes a short step away as Dev gasps for oxygen, eyes stretching open once more with his first grateful inhalation.
"Arceus' fucking mercy! What the fuck?"
"Hey!" I bark at him, skidding to a halt beside Sumieri as she backs to my side, eyes focussed intently on Dev. "Shut it, Dev! What are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" He murmurs with false calm as he swaggers unsteadily to his feet seething through his teeth. "What am I doing!? Be blurts, rage spilling forth through his façade."What kind of god-damn question is that? She just attacked me!"
"You were spying on us." I say levelly. In a flash my rapier is free and in my hand, blade humming through the air and stopping suddenly with the tip at Dev's throat. He freezes as the blade registers with him, breathing momentarily pausing as the blade glistens sinisterly in the darkness.
"I was just... I was curious..." He barely stifles a gulp that would surely slit his throat to pass over the tip, touching tautly against his neck, but just not enough to draw blood.
"He was watching us." Sumieri observes simply, cocking her head curiously and figuring out this new creature. "A Lucario... I remember Lucarios... weak to water, strong to ice, but weak to wind. Little trouble to kill. What they hold in strength and will they lack in constitution. A simple prick to the throat as such would result in a delayed, but painful death. A deeper stab and he would drown in his own blood as-"
"No- no killing... please..." He whines and raises his paws defensively while shaking his head quickly as much as he dares with my sword at his throat. "There's no need for that now... C'mon Ben, this is silly..."
"You followed me." I state, making my disapproval clear through my harsh tone. His whine heightens in pitch a little as his eyes tremble. I turn to Sumieri, but keep watching Dev in the corner of my eye. "What was he doing?"
"He was watching us. Nothing more, nothing less." She replies, effectively without reproach for his actions. I nod and draw my blade away, spinning it quickly and stabbing it into the scabbard.
"Let this be a warning." I turn back to him as he rubs his throat uncomfortably with a paw. "Next time I won't play nice."
"You are one crazy bastard..." He remarks, taking a step away with a wary glance at Sumieri. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to know, I won't tell anyone, I promise." He nods hopefully, raising a faint grin. "But Suicune... there's a shock..."
"If you should like him dead, I can do it quite easily." Sumieri offers with disturbing cool, eyeing his weak points intently. "If you should wish."
"No, no killing." I shake my head, much to Dev's relief. "As long as he keeps his metaphysical mouth shut we'll get along just fine." I look down to my left, and nod to Sumieri. "Sumieri." I say, looking to Dev. "Sumieri, this is Dev."
"Hi..." Dev grins sheepishly, managing a half-hearted wave. Sumieri makes no reply back to him, just stares at him in a way that surely raises great concern in Dev.
"She doesn't say much." I explain with a sigh. She shakes her head to affirm.
"No kidding..." Dev looks up at me with an idle nod, probably just to get away from Sumieri's stare.
I stare him down too, just to make the situation more awkward for him. "And nobody finds out." I warn, fingers dancing along the handle of my rapier.
"Yeah..." He agrees with a stiff nod. "You've made that message stick, don't worry."
"Good." My fingers slide off the handle and my hand falls to my side. I turn to Sumieri with a nod, easing her back to a sitting position with my official confirmation of Dev's worth. "Sumieri, this is Dev. We're going to be travelling with Dev."
"Why?" She cocks her head with a grunt, inspecting him yet again, expression appearing to grow more and more distasteful with each re-examination.
"Because..." I trail off with a sigh. "It's a long story."
"Okay." Dev and I both go rigid as she stands and takes a step towards us, as if we thought her incapable of walking or something. "Cu-cune." She hums. It's a strangely melodious, vibrating sound, stretching and echoing. "Suicu-suicune." I dare to spin to face Dev, and find sweat suddenly pouring off his brow, seeping down his face and darkening his fur a bit as his lip trembles a bit. "Dev and I have reached an understanding." She decides, turning around and walking away again.
"Um..." I watch Sumieri with fascination as she heads away, possibly interested by something else nearby. "What did she just say?"
"I am not permitted to tell." He replies rather stiffly. His words aren't his own obviously, so Sumieri has told him something she doesn't want me to hear.
"Okay then." I decide, not pressing any further, just acknowledging with a knowing nod.
"She is one scary bitch..." I cough a little and tap my rapier in one hand with a warning murmur.
"Dev, let me make this absolutely clear." I whip my rapier from my side and swing it outstretched sideways, glinting just at his throat and trimming a little of his fur. I throw him a calm look of warning. "If you call her that again I'm going to slit your throat."
This time his eyes kind of glint a little, not holding fear but rather shining with curiosity. "Aah... I see..." A thin grin rises in spite of the sword at his throat. "I see I see I see..."
"What are you talking about?" I spin my sword and slip it back into the sheath.
"Huh? Oh, nothing." He dismisses and turns around and walks away backwards. "Nothing at all."
I stare dumfounded after him, my position seeming to suddenly drop a few levels in my confusion. "What?"
"Lux..." I look down to find Cheri at my side sighing. I almost forgot she was there.
"Cheri, do you know what this is all about?" I crouch on one knee and lift her up under her armpits, just off the ground.
"Lux." She rolls her eyes with a huff and stares at me with what I swear is a "no-shit" look.
"Hey... there's no need for that kind of language." I mutter disapprovingly. She licks at one of my wrists in apology, then grins at me widely as I sit down. I can't help but chucked a little at her cheery smile, just restoring my hope a little. She can still smile, so maybe she can go back to normal after what happened to her. "Come on. I think there's some of that berry mush stuff left if you're still hungry."
"Lu-lux!" She chirps, walking a short circle in my lap and then standing on her hind legs to lick my face.
I laugh and ease her off me gently. "All right, girl. Come on."
*
/Perspective: Chimera/
"Upsy-downsy-upsy-downsy..." My chanting continues randomly as I duck and dive, respectively repeating "upsy" or "downsy" as I leap over and under branches and bushes. "-upsy-downsy-upsy-"
I leap off the branch as I hit the edge of the forest, spotting a recess in the trees up ahead. I leap off the branch as I feel my body ripple from snout to tail, the former growing and the latter shrinking into nothing and my body prickling as my short fur spikes out longer. I'm transformed by the time I hit the ground, and looking over my new body with interest.
I don't particularly enjoy being a Jolteon. No tail, long nose, kinda silly looking. But Jolteon's fast, and that's what I need. "Right..." I look to my right as I emerge onto route two, trotting silently into the middle of the dusty clay path. Back to Viridian city, route one, pallet town... a small grin stretches over my longer muzzle, fangs glinting coldly in the moonlight filtering through a tree overhead. And my mistress- route twenty-one. I turn left just before I leave, just out of curiosity as I dig through my memory, running along the path in my mind and piecing together mental fragments of a Kanto map I saw once. That way... Viridian forest... then pewter city... after that mount moon... th-
"Mount mooooooooon..."
I jerk around to my left, discharging unwittingly with surprise at the voice. It's like a chaotic moan of some kind, or a wailing.
"Who...?" I hiss, eyes narrowing and cocking my head and an ear to the sound. Where did that come from? What did it say? Mount moon?
"Mount moon..." I spin right. There it goes again... It's like a raspy hiss now. I look around me in all directions, shock easing away and replaced by curiosity. The mistress always told me my curiosity would be me downfall, but I took little heed to her warning. Mount moon? I think experimentally.
"Mount moon."
Mount moon?
"Mount moon..."
Does it want me to go to mount moon?
"Yes..." I leap back in shock, looking around again.
Go to mount moon?
"Yes..."
"Yes..." I repeat hypnotically, a little spark of curiosity tingling through my body like a zap of excitement and anticipation. There's something at mount moon...
"Yes..."
"I should go to mount moon." The words come before the thought does, just as an impulsive outburst.
"Yes..."
"Yes..."
"Yes..."
"I'm going to mount moon..." I look right one last time, hearing another "Yes" rasp through my mind, then I break into a dash to the north, towards Pewter city on the other side of the Viridian woods.
"Yes... he waits for you..."
*
/Perspective: Ben/
I let Sumieri have a decent ten minutes of freedom before I decided it was about time we headed back to camp, thinking Amy might get curious or alone and come after us. She might have got lost, or even worse: found us. So with Sumieri in her ball and Cheri wrapped up in my arms and snuggling into my shoulder, Dev and I set off back towards camp. Dev still wore that patronising grin, clearly visualising something funny as he kept stifling giggles as he walked. I asked him a few times- rather I calmly demanded, but he just dismissed my concerns unconvincingly, then murmured things like "nothing at all" or "Rich..." much to my irritation.
Amy was looking rather glum when we returned to camp, twirling a wooden spoon in her pot and idly stirring the mix, but her face brightened with her trademark smile of inconceivably powerful joy upon seeing us return.
"Hey guys!" She called, waving to us and standing as if we were blind as Zubats and couldn't see her from five metres' distance.
"Hey." I reply without effort, still patting Cheri's head as she ceases up a little upon seeing Amy. Her golden eyes shine intently as she falls back on her "freeze and hate-stare" reaction that seems to be what she does when she's afraid.
"Have a nice walk?" Amy pipes up, standing by the fire pit.
"Average one." I shrug, kneeling opposite her on the other side of the pit and taking the ladle from the pot and scooping out some mush for Cheri. She still stares at Amy with that kind of "touch me and die" stare she has. I pile the food onto the plate for Cheri and head towards the tree stump I've made my designated stuff area by piling up my backpack and sleeping bag, and I place the plate on the ground beside it as I take my sleeping bag off the pile. "I'm going to get some sleep in. I'm wanting to get away early tomorrow, so I have to wake up fresh and early." I step into my sleeping bag an dpull it up around me, throwing some clothes into it with me. "I suggest you do the same."
As I change in my sleeping bag, Amy throws Dev an unsure glance, like a lost child. He nods back to her, making up her dependant mind and probably communicating a message with her.
I throw my clothes out of my sleeping bag once I'm in my pyjamas and throw them onto the stump as I lie down and take a pillow from the stump. "Night peeps." I yawn, stretching out as I shuffle off a root digging into the small of my back.
"Night Ben." Dev yawns too, catching mine and lying on the ground some metres away, lacking any cover or blanket.
"Goodnight." I hear from nearby in Amy's voice, but my eyes are closed by this point.
"Lusio." I remain calm, not flinching as Cheri lands softly on my stomach. She walks a few circles around on my sleeping bag, I feel her claws dig in and lift it up as she makes a home for herself just to last tonight. "Lux..." She sounds a little irritated. I feel a fifth contact on my body under the material. It's not sharp, and prodding softly. Probably her nose. "Lux-lux." She turns and scrabbles towards the top of my sleeping bag, then jumps off.
"Hey!" I call with a grin as she shoots past me and into my sleeping bag. She slips right down to the bottom, then runs back up over me. I cringe a bit, but she avoids standing on anything important as she rushes back and quickly settles on my upper chest with a purr as she curls up, just leaving her head sticking out a little.
"Luuuuuuuuuuuux-" She squeaks, yawning cutely with her little mouth wide open, showing her four razor fangs in a rogue Ray of moonlight striking them with a little flash.
I smile and ruffle the fur on her head a bit. She appears to enjoy it, and leans into it with a content expression and another warm purr. "Sweet dreams, Cheri." I give her one last scratch on the ear before settling deeper into my bag and wrapping my arms around her body. She's warm, and touching her sends a series of little electric tingles through my arms and body. Not sharp, jolting shocks, but like a sparkling warmth, tickling me.
It tingles and tickles my skin as she rolls onto her side, still smiling as she lets herself drift away into sleep. I too feel myself taken by the allure of the sleeping realm, feeling the tingling lessen a bit as my mind seeps out of consciousness slowly. The gentle breeze touching on my face and the little warmth of the fire prickling on my neck flicker and fade as darkness washes over me, and I fall asleep...
*
/3rdp/
Everybody sat in a perfect silence, save the beating of the chopper blades overhead presenting an industrial feeling ambience. Jason's head hung blankly, the last one awake, not requiring sleep. He hadn't slept in a month. Instead he sat perfectly still, save for the occasional turbulent shake swaying him ever-so-slightly in his seat. Beside him, Shari's head rested on his shoulder, hands lying lazily over hers and his waist, not being picky in their placement on his body.
From the roof, a single light shone bright. A red siren light whirled around, scanning its crimson rays over the crucible's static occupants, lighting Jason's shades up with a deep, dark scarlet just for a moment. Glossy casing of rifles and pistols alike shone bright under the light, resting locked and loaded in the laps and loose grips of everybody around.
It was dark outside. Tiny blips of light were barely visible from this height, but they were there, decorating the window view with hundreds of little specks that looked like a pitch black sky. It was impossible to tell where the sky ended and the horizon began. Both looked the same, but the boys in the cabin would have some kind of equipment to show altitude, no doubt.
Jason's own grip tightened for no reason on his own weapon, hanging from one hand and barrel against the floor. It was a a MK-10 grenade launcher. Ten shot barrel magazine. Beside that, resting across his combat boots was a MG36 LMG. A different one from the Viking, seeing as the Viking's barrel now resembled a capital "L" after Jason swung it at the Rampardos. He had only the heaviest weapons, seeing as he could run faster with both of these monsters at the same time than any other of the occupants could with a pistol.
But when the shit hit the fan, his most powerful weapon was still neither of these. It was Keiomi.
"Wakey-wakey boys, we're approaching Viridian forest." The compartment stirred to life with the grace and freshness of a Snorlax being awoken and pushed down a hill, sharing unhappy murmurs as they yawned and rubbed their eyes. One of them threw Shari a short glance, eyes wide as they could manage in this state of tiredness. Jason sensed a spike in his aura and threw him a warning glance. The man looked away quickly, indulging in his previous dream privately, and without a view of the object of his desire. "This is your captain speaking, uuuuuh... we'll be arriving at Viridian forest shortly, estimated forty seconds, the time is... 12:30 am." He managed the usual "pilot voice" very well considering the situation."A nice early start to the day for you boys, let's kick it off with a little hide-and-seek with some flesh-devouring blood-thirsty shadys, huh?"
"Shut up, Wilson." One man grumbled as he lifted his assault rifle into his lap, rubbing an eye with his free hand and yawning.
"All good for you, isn't it?" Another joined the assault, looking up and directing his words at the speaker above his head. "You get to flutter around over our heads, nice and safe while we jump feet first into hell."
There was a moment of silence over the speaker, but an eventual snigger alerted the crew that they were about to hear something they weren't going to like. "Jumping feet first... funny you should mention that..."
"Fuck no..."
"Your 'chutes are under your seats, boys. Have a nice fall."
"You can't just land us?"
Another pause. "Course not, Marley." Came a content reply from the pilot. "This helicopter is owned by Jetstar; landing is an added extra none of you have paid for."
"But-"
"And so are parachutes, usually." The pilot interrupted. "I'm cutting you a break as it is and making an exception, so chop-chop, before I decide you aren't worth it."
The back compartment, save Shari and Jason who were already strapping up, all shared looks of shock with one another, mouthing frantically. "I'm serious. Strap up. Twelve seconds." Everybody whipped their gear out from under their seats at that confirmation. They all had been trained in using the gear, but jumping in the dark like this was something they had been told from day one was a really bad idea, thus their concerns. "All righty then, gentlemen. We are directly above Viridian forest, 6000 feet up. We've a couple of high-power floodlights so we can shine down on the ground for you to land in." There was a series of collective sighs of some relief. "Hey, I'm a bit of an asshole but I'm not looking to kill you all. We'll spot the ground level for you and you can all head for the light, got it?"
"Got it." One man who was slightly more enthusiastic than the rest nodded, pulling himself to his feet. One of the ten-or-so in the back compartment, including Jason and Shari.
At one side, the wall slid outwards a foot, then across. An immediate gust swept through, blowing Shari's hair back and over her shoulders as she gritted her teeth. The beating of chopper blades exploded through the compartment with the door open, churning frigid chill after frigid chill with each lash of the wind.
"I hope you two feel safe up here!" Shari called as she was the first to the doorway, holding the edges and leaning out over the endless drop into the darkness below.
"Oh, we do." The second pilot shot back with a snigger. "Hope the spotlight doesn't attract you any unwanted attention, Shari."
Shari bit her lip and cast the speaker a hateful stare. "If I die down there I swear to Arceus, I'm coming back from the dead to cut off your heads AND SHOVE THEM UP YOUR FUCKING ASSES!" She screamed at the speakers, then quickly fell back into her calm demeanour as the speakers sniggered further. "And I won't match head with ass, either." She added, leaning back out. "So, are we all re-aaaaaa-" She added as Jason pushed her.
"Yes." He shrugged, watching her fall for half a second, then leaping out himself.
"FUCK YOU JASON!"
The world emerged like a smack to the face as the chilling wind surrounded Jason, ripping across his face and catching under his coat as he fell and spun haphazardly. Being in his Jason mind-set, he freefell, no fear of facing the wrong way or spinning out of control. Fear was just something that Keiomi did. Behind him the remaining eight shot from the craft like tiny, distant black missiles launching out into the night sky to unleash devastation. A cell of deadly flying night-ops from heaven, descending upon the earth; hearts heavy with wrath and fury.
Above, a light exploded on. The sheer power of the thing was stunning, Jason even had to look away, even with his shades. Above the men were unmistakably outlined by the huge flash from above, cloaking them in a veil of illumination and making them totally visible.
Perhaps a little too visible.
"Shari! What was that?" Shari twisted forwards into a dive and put a hand to her earpiece.
"What was what?" She called into her mouthpiece, talking to a man high above.
"I heard something!"
"What-?"
Everything went to shit. Everybody's gazes flew upwards, struggling to follow what they were seeing as they spun. Above them the burning bright light shut off, and instead a flood of orange washed over them as a fireball erupted high up. Orange billowed from the chopper, immediately engulfing the entire craft in one giant explosion, surging from every point and hiding it inside the immediate inferno.
"Shit! IT'S COMING BACK!"
"What's coming back?" Shari called into her mouthpiece, desperately searching the skies around her as she dived.
"Marley! YOUR SIX! ON YOUR SIX!"
"AAAAA-" Marley's communicator stopped.
"Shoot it! Shoot it!"
"Somebody tell me what the fuck this thing is!" Shari screamed into her mouthpiece.
"It's coming back!"
"GAAAAAAAAAR!" Shari caught a glimpse of something. Above she could faintly make out the shapes of men falling above her. Then something blurred past- and there was one man less.
"Garchomp." She recognised that. That voice, that calm, unconcerned tone, that disturbing lack of urgency or fear. It wasn't through her earpiece either, it echoed inside her, in her mind and soul and all through her body. "It sliced the chopper, now it's coming for us." Shari's horrified gaze swung upwards as it shot past again, this time taking two men with it. "Shari!" Shari spun around in the air. For a moment she was confused, but she registered Jason after a second, falling upside-down and extending a hand to her. "Stay close." His words were almost lost in the wind whipping past, but Shari caught his message, and grabbed his hand. "Get ready, I'm going to draw its attention." He looked up as he held his free hand outstretched. The darkness sparked to life in his palm, a silver flash sparkling into existence caged in his fingers and cutting through the darkness, casting an amazing silver light across the two of them. For a moment, Shari was caught staring at his shades. They lit up silver, the gleam splitting the black as two thick rays. The way that silver contrasted with his black coat was just... hard to describe the effect the colours had.
"Garchomp!" That snapped Shari out of it, and spun her head to something shooting towards them.
"Now!" Shari cried in pain as Jason's foot hit her square in the stomach, right where her harness was to soften the impact. The two of them flew apart as the thing shot for them. It veered right slightly, but then left, unable to decide which target to head for, and ended up shooting straight through the centre of them. Jason hurled his orb as it passed, swinging with full force. It collided with the Pokémon with an epic flash as it exploded, silver light spewing over the area with a burst of white-hot looking vapour. The Pokémon roared and arced into a barrel-roll, dropping metres as it regained its momentum.
Jason bit his lip. It could take a few hits, that was for sure. "Shari, pull your chute!"
"What?" She screamed back. "I'll be a sitting Psyduck!"
THE GROUND'S APPROACHING! DO IT!" Jason barked. "I'll take care of this guy!" Shari and Jason stared eye to eye for a moment, silently debating. Jason always won silent debates- he had shades.
"All right." Shari nodded; with much reluctance. "But promise me one thing." She fixed Jason a stern stare, commanding his attention with the unexpected gravity of her request. "Promise me you'll come back to me." Jason stared, watching the Garchomp circle back and contemplating what Shari was suggesting at the same time. It was a rare occasion- Jason looked... confused. She shook her head slowly, a sincere sparkle in her eyes. "I know you're about to do something reckless and stupid... just don't die on me. You're the closest thing I have to a friend." She admitted, delving into the softer side she held underneath somewhere.
"Now's no time to get soft, Shari." Jason replied levelly, reaching out and pulling Shari closer by her hand. They stared each other closely in the eyes, through shades. "I can't promise anything, so please- stay strong."
Shari remained silent, despite the Pokémon charging for the two again. "Whatever I've said in the past, I do like you Jason." She whispered, just loud enough to be heard. She clasped Jason's larger, bandaged hands in hers. "Don't forget that." She leaned forwards, and she kissed him quickly, on the lips. For about a second they were locked together, and then they drew apart. "It doesn't make sense, but I love you."
"Thank you, Shari." Jason nodded, hanging his head in the rushing wind. Suddenly the Garchomp was the least of his concerns. "And I'm sorry I can't be the man you deserve." He reached around Shari, and pulled her chute.
He kicked off Shari as the Pokémon appeared, ripping the bandages off his palms as he flew backwards. He threw all of his strength into kicking his legs backwards, flipping himself through the air just to avoid the Pokémon. As he moved he ripped a chain from his skin, pulling a loop of chain from his palm and throwing it backwards.
If he weren't what he was, his arm would have been jerked right out of its socket as the loop caught around the Garchomp's neck as it flew past, but a sharp stab of pain was all he received as he was dragged through the sky after the Pokémon at high velocity.
He wrapped both hands around the chain as the Pokémon shot off into the sky, pulling Jason after it in its trail. Overcoming the initial shock of being yanked through the air, he unwrapped one hand, and placed it further up the chain, then the next, and began climbing it, so to speak, even as the two sped through the air kilometres from the ground.. There was about six metre's distance he had to make up for to perform his reckless, stupid attack, and he had to do that before it reached Shari.
Tapping into his deep reserves of superhuman strength, he threw hand after hand up the chain, chasing after the Pokémon as it barrel-rolled and circled all around to throw him off, feeling the chain digging into its neck, but Jason's hands held the chain in a vice grip swinging left to right and all around with the Pokémon's manoeuvres, and he climbed along the chain closer and closer to the Pokémon's tail.
Ahead, Jason spotted Shari's chute flaring open, puffing out of her pack and billowing up. And the Garchomp saw it too, and went for it. Jason gritted his teeth as his skin crawled. It was going after Shari. His friend Shari. That pissed him off. That pissed Keiomi off.
The shit hit the fan.
Around Jason's shades, there was always a slight glow. So faint that it could only be seen in a pitch-black room. That was the glow of his red eyes. That glow, on that night hanging onto that chain and trailing behind a Garchomp, that glow disappeared; red of eyes blotted out as a shade of sheer, black rage and fury passed through his soul. What little emotion Jason held dear to him was overrun by his all-consuming wrath, and the only emotion he received from Keiomi was the same: anger. A being of solely anger, twice over in one body. This was rage in true form.
His next epic heave threw him an entire metre forwards, and right to the Pokémon's tail. His very last push threw him right onto the Pokémon's back. He planted his feet firmly on either side of the chain, and he stood up. Wind battered him as the Pokémon flew, whipping past him and doing its best to tear him away in the torrent, but he held on. He clung to the chain in one hand, wrapped around its neck and keeping him standing upright, tall and terrible.
Quickly, he whipped the chain around his waist, and tied a knot there, holding him up, and released his hand on the chain, giving him both hands free as the distance between him and Shari shrunk tenfold. Chains ripped through his bandages on either hands, snaking out quickly and toward the Pokémon's huge, pitch black wings. Aura glowed through the links like holy blue blood, azure like the midday sky and pulsating with raw power, and guided by the will of his power, the chains snapped around the Pokémon's wings and returned to Jason's hands. Using tremendous strength, he pulled the chains together, pulling the Garchomp's rigid wings up with them and receiving a startled cry from it. He continued pulling against the Pokémon, and with a last, sharp pull, pulled its wings right up so that they were actually vertical and dislocating both its shoulders in the process, provoking a roar of pain as the Pokémon's altitude dropped without its wings to hold it up.
As Jason shot under her, he threw Shari one last look, and nodded to her- and he was gone.
He took the chains, and he twisted them both around each other into a knot, or a few knots. Like it could break them anyway with dislocated shoulders. The Garchomp's neck bucked and writhed side to side as it screamed, dropping like a stone and spinning out of control without anything to stabilise. He leaned forwards a little, as close to the Pokémon's ear as he could get. "Consider yourself terminated." Jason unwrapped his chain from around his waist, and he jumped off it back.
Unfortunately, the Pokémon was upside down, and he jumped- downwards. Straight towards the ground. As his head flew up- or rather down, he saw the ground approaching way to quickly for his comfort. Or Keiomi's to be specific. Whereas Keiomi would have panicked at being a hundred metres high from the ground, Jason's fearless mind-set saw right through the immediate fear, and worked a solution.
His arms crossed, palm to shoulder with each arm, and he curled his legs in and tucked his head between his legs. Inside, he tapped into the aura he held so deeply, the aura that coursed so thickly through his veins and blood and allowed him to survive thus far, and he released it all over. It sprung free of its binds and surged through his entire body, coating his entire form in a split-second within a field of aura, or a protect field, rather.
And he hit not a second later.
*
/Perspective: Ben/
"Arceus, what the hell is that?" I squint at the flash high above as I climb out of both my sleep and sleeping bag after being rudely awoken. A little yellow speck way above. I almost mistook it for a star, but stars don't just randomly appear in the sky like that.
"It's an explosion." Amy gawked, eyes locked on the dissipating flicker of light. "Oh no... poor passenger people..."
"There are people!" We both spin to Dev, whose eyes are glowing blue with the aura vision Lucarios are famous for. "They're alive, they're... I think they're jumping out..."
"What? Why?" Amy demanded as she began to shake and pale all over, obviously unfamiliar with parachutes.
"there's a Pokémon, too." Dev ignores her, still watching. "No two poke-" He stops, aura vision fading back into his eyes as they return to normal colouration. "Two Pokémon..." He murmurs, watching the skies keenly. "There's something wrong with those Pokémon..."
"Oh no, are they hurt?" There goes Amy again with the stupid questions.
"No..." Dev squints, eyes glowing blue once more. "But their aura's... they're... wrong."
"Wrong?" That piques my curiosity. I take a step beside him, following his gaze. "What? How?"
"Their auras are colours they shouldn't be-" He stops short. "One just killed a human."
"WHAT!?" I cringe and block my ears before Amy can scream, sensing her outburst.
"A Garchomp! It's attacking the falling people!"
"Oh shit." I murmur, gritting my teeth at the sky. "A Pokémon attacking people... this has to be team rocket..."
There's a flash. Small, but unmistakably a flash. Small and white, and high up.
"What happened?" I ask, still focussed on the sky.
"There's a Lucario!" Dev yelps, still watching. "He hit the Garchomp with flash cannon!"
"What?" I squint harder, but it does me no good. "What the fuck is going on up there?"
Amy and I both glance at Dev over the next minute, both of us visibly confused as Dev's stare widens and narrows on the sky above. Another flash of light grabs our attention, and we're all staring again. But as soon as the flash is over, Dev's back to staring silently at what only he can see.
"They're coming down!" He exclaims suddenly, throwing me and Amy away from him in surprise at his outburst. He suddenly turns tail and charges off to the north. "Over here!"
"Hey! Hold up!" I call to him, giving chase with a murmur of irritation.
"Dev! Ben! Slow down!" Amy calls from behind as we dash into the forest after whatever Dev has seen. "Ben! Slow down! I can't keep up!" She calls, but I keep trying my best to stay with Dev.
"Come on Amy!" I spin on my heel to face her, and promptly hit a branch behind me, throwing off my balance and grounding me. "Dammit!" I bark as a pain stabs through my back, landing on something hard.
"Ben!" Amy rushes to my side, panting heavily and doubling over. "Are you..." She takes a deep inhalation. "-you okay?"
I pull myself upright with a frustrated murmur, pain stinging through my body and aching. "Yeah..." I open my eyes and look up at Amy, managing to look through the diminishing pain. "I'm-" I stop short, seeing something over her shoulder. "Huh." I cock my head, stepping around her towards the thing.
"What-" Amy too stops as she turns around. "Oh, it's so cute!" Her face flashes with joy, despite having just witnessed some kind of crazy explosion and mid-air Pokémon fight right over her head. She rushes towards the thing as another lands beside it on the same log.
"Butt?" The bug Pokémon cocks its head, staring at the two of us through those creepy compound eyes. "Butterfree?"
"Aaaaaw, it's so pretty..." Amy falls to her knees in front of the log, a third Butterfree landing beside the first two. I approach much more cautiously, trying to visualise a picture of a Butterfree I saw once.
"Um... Amy..." I stop at a distance, realising something... disturbing. "Butterfree are usually purple..." She turns over her shoulder with a curious stare.
"So?"
"In case you didn't notice... those are black Butterfree..."
"They're SHINY?!?!" She spins back towards the Butterfree, eyes shining with awe. That awe disappears very, very quickly.
"Raaaaaaagh..." They hiss simultaneously, tiny mouths opening wide and razor shard fangs glinting, poisonous ooze dripping viscously from their maws. "RAAAAAAARGH!"
"AAAAAAAGH!" Amy spins and dashes for me screaming, and all hell breaks loose. The Butterfree explode into the air, zipping off their log and into attack mode. "EVIL-POISON-FANGED-BUTTERFREE!"
I dash past Amy and whip my rapier from its sheath as the Pokémon swarm towards us in an erratic haphazard attack pattern. I don't see anything, and simply whip my blade overhead randomly as they fly at me. They disperse and rush around my crazy swings, then buzz at me from behind. I spin around and lash out with a random jab, adrenaline exploding through my system. Two Butterfree swerve away, but the third in the middle isn't as lucky, and my blade pierces straight through its soft, squishy body with ease, skewering it cleanly from head to ass on the blade.
I spin around and whip the blade from the Pokémon, unwittingly splashing blood across a terrified Amy as I spin to the attack. One Butterfree is floating just behind me. I quickly slash at it, twice then stab. The first two slices quickly shear through the Pokémon's questionably weak wings like paper, then the stab catches through the flightless Pokémon's abdomen.
I rip it out with a spin and a flourish, eyes immediately darting around for the third. "Where is- Aaagh!" My vision floods white momentarily as a massive spasm of pain sears my right shoulder, a huge stab. I turn my shaking head to the pain, and I freeze, seeing the Pokémon's poison-soaked fangs embedded in my shoulder. "Y-y-you piece of shit..." and I fall.
/3rdp/
"Ben!" Amy called, but fear rooted her to the spot, shaking and petrified as Ben collapsed. The crazy evil Butterfree latched itself off Ben's shoulder with a feral scream, bellowing at a terrified Amy with more-than-enough menace. With more strength than such a Pokémon should be able to muster, it shot forwards, directly towards Amy.
"Lux!" The call was lost as the air crackled and sparked to life. Energy cracked through the air, straight through the feral Butterfree. It seemed to pause in mid-air as it was struck, movement eliminated in that split-second of being hit by that thunderbolt, then it went crashing to the ground. "Lux!" Cheri leapt from a nearby bush and immediately sprinted for Ben's side, wailing. "Lux! Luxio-lux!" She cried, prodding Ben with her nose.
"Uuh... Cheri..?" Ben slowly brought himself to sit upright, despite his stinging shoulder and pounding head.
"Lux!" Cheri leapt into his lap with a coo of relief and joy, nuzzling into his belly extremely pushily.
"Hey, hey... settle down..." Ben tousled his fingers through her fur as she stepped back a little to give him some space. "I'm all right, my shoulder's just..." He grunted a bit as he tried to move it. Unsuccessful. "Shit that thing had some bite to it..." He murmured, standing up slowly, swaying as his balance swung about. He brought his hand away from the wound with a grunt. "Does this look infected to you?"
"Lux." Cheri nodded, a concerned frown tugging at her lips, but she did her best to hide it.
"Yeah..." Amy nodded, moving closer to inspect the wound. She stared for a moment as Ben's gaze switched between the dead Butterfree, replaying the whole situation of what was going on. "Wait... no."
"No?" Ben landed his gaze on his shoulder. The skin was swollen and red around four bite marks. "What do you call that?"
"Your skin is just reacting to the venom." Amy observed, suddenly curious and staring from a few inches. "It's not actually infected. Weird."
"Good weird." Ben pulled his jacket up over his shoulder again, covering the wound. "So what the fuck is that?" He pointed to the Butterfree, shrugging.
"Evil-poison-fanged-Butterfree?" Amy suggested. Ben replied with the kind of glare that suggested she wasn't being helpful.
He knelt beside one, still holding his rapier in case it needed a little assistance in being dead. "Black Butterfree... trippy."
"It's called a shadow Pokémon."
/ben/
The three of us swing to the voice immediately, me first still being in "attack mode". Holding some kind of huge machine gun over his shoulders in one hand, a man falls from the tree branch he was standing on with impeccable balance. As he lands he falls to one knee, crouching low as his Marvel-"Blade"-style overcoat falls around him like in one of those action movies. He stands slowly, face set stony and expressionless beneath an ominous, dark pair of shades.
I raise an eyebrow. Scary guy with big gun. I should really be concerned about this. "Shadow Pokémon?" I'm barely paying attention to my words, staring at his hands. Bloody and bandaged all over, and bandages coiling up his wrist and under the sleeve of his coat.
"Primal form." The man's pale lips barely move with his words. He begin towards them slowly, each step lingers leisurely in the air for a while before dropping. This is the stride of somebody with way too much confidence than was healthy. He swings the machine gun into his other hand in front of him, shocking Amy into leaping back a step, but I hold his place as I feel Cheri slip behind my legs with a growl, just letting her hide there and feel safe. "Pokémon were once normal. Now they're not."
"No shit, Sherlock." I grunt, prodding the Butterfree with my rapier tip. "What was your first clue? The "black" thing or the "poison-dripping razor fangs?""
He grunts back, cocking his head patronising me. "Smart ass, huh?" He almost grins- a disturbingly calm yet unpleasant nearly smile. A smile is something of joy, and that's sure as hell not joy... "Don't act like you're settled. You have no idea what's going on here."
I open my mouth to reply, but he's got me there. I have no idea what's going on here, and as for settled- I'm so jumpy I'm this close to diving at him and disembowelling him. "All right then." I nod, still holding my weapon tight as my team hides behind me. "You got me. I have no idea what this shit is about- but you seem like one of those "mysterious all-knowing" strangers, so you must know what this is."
"I do."
I stare back at him levelly, flexing my grip as sweat sticks to my skin, rolling off my brow reluctantly. "Are you going to tell me what this is about?"
He cocks his head, but only slightly. He stares in a creepy, silent way before answering. "This forest is full of shadow Pokémon."
"Full?" I blink. "Like, lots of them?"
"Lots." He nods, weighing the gun up and down in his hands idly. "I'm here to kill them."
"You're a fucking psycho." I realise, still staring at him. "You think you're going to kill a forest full of Pokémon with a fucking machine gun?"
"I have a grenade launcher." He shrugs, not confusedly but passively. "I'll manage."
"Who are you?"
"Jason." He says, standing idle and looking around a little. "I don't suppose you've seen a ranger around here? Female, five-foot nine, parachuted in from a helo?"
"The one that exploded?"
"Yeah." He returns his gaze to me. "Garchomp hit it. Have you seen her?"
"Nope."
"Dammit..." He looks around again, repeating the same exact movements as his last search, but stopping halfway through and staring at the distance. "Which way are you going?"
"North-"Damn, why did I tell him that? "Why?"
"Not any more you're not." He raises the weapon, looking to the east. "You're going west now."
"What?"
"There's a Feraligatr coming from the east." We all stare towards the east momentarily. Thick with trees and foliage, there's nothing out of the ordinary. "A big, scary black one." He answers before I can ask. "And he can smell you..." He pauses, still watching the distance. "Better start running."
"You are kidding m-"
"-atr... atr... atr... tr... r..."
Jason grimaces, raising the barrel of his gun. As I turn my stare on him, I can swear I see a blue glow around his shades. "It's coming fast!" He backs away, still staring. "You!" He points at the three of us. "Come with me if you want to live!"
Follow scary guy with big gun or stay here to be shredded apart by a big scary Feraligatr? Crappy situation much.
"Come on Amy!" I make a dash for Jason as he turns and runs into the forest. Behind me I hear Cheri cry out as she bolts after me, and I hear Amy's footsteps in the bark giving chase.
"Feraligatr!"
"Shit!" I almost trip as I jump over a tall tree root and stumble after Jason as his outlined disappears into a patch of fog ahead. There's a blue-grey mist all around here, hanging around the base of the trees. "Hey! Wait up!" I call after him, slowing a bit as the mist around me thickens a bit.
I spin around to search for Amy. Bad move. The fog is so dense, I'm immediately disorientated as I make my move. "Amy?" I call into the fog. My words just bounce around all over the place, echoing off trees all around and filling the air everywhere. "Cheri?"
"Io!" I spin right as a shape bursts into life, rushing towards me quickly through the mist.
"Cheri!" I bend down as she crashes into me, catching her in her leap.
"Lux!" She purrs, burying her head against my chest.
"I don't think this is the time for a hug, Cheri..." I lift her off me and stand, turning around and looking for any sign of movement. "Where has everybody gone?" I wipe the cold sweat from my brow, scanning all around once more.
Bangbangbangbangbang-
Cheri and I dive to the ground simultaneously, throwing our arms over our heads as gunfire rattles through the forest's eerie ambience, like lighting a fire in the feel of the place and setting off a blaze.
"Aligatr!"
"Over here!" I spin right and dash through the fog towards the sound, clearly not thinking properly as I rush towards a homicidal psychopath gunning down a deranged evil Pokémon. Really not a good move...
The fog ahead darkens as I stupidly rush forwards, and a shape grows as a dark patch in the cloud- a moving shape.
"Feraligatr!" My ears ring and things just twist and fuzz. It's a few seconds before I realise I'm on the ground, looking straight up with a ringing sharply stinging my ears still. Behind I see a tree fall, cracking as the bark splinters and breaks, and crashing with a rustle as it hits the ground, middle blown out by the explosion.
Fucking psycho with his fucking grenade launcher! I realise furiously, climbing to my feet as another whizzes overhead and explodes behind me. Can't aim for shit... I dash forwards into the clearing with Cheri in tow, heading for the echoing crashes and explosions ahead.
As I burst out of the treeline, my view is totally dominated by the huge frame of a Feraligatr. Its presence wholly dominates my view, it's just so incredible. Every inch of its scaly hide is pitch black, glossy and wet in the moonlight, slippery looking. Its eyes glow a chilling red, shining in the moisture hanging all around and lighting it up.
On the opposite side of the clearing is that same guy- Jason. He throws the grenade launcher aside and into the mud- soil now soaked by water attacks missing their target. He swings the machine gun off his back as the Feraligatr leaps forwards at him, mouth open and loosing a roaring bellow as its teeth fade into a lighter, glowing blue, icy veins of energy sparkling across the pearl white surface.
"Cheri!" I bark at her without thinking. "Thunderbolt!"
"Lux-!" She leaps forwards, body alight and sparking all over with energy, then discharges upon landing, arching her back and firing off an explosive bolt of lightning at the water-type. "-io!"
Gunfire splits the air, but it's quickly drowned out by the resounding crack of Cheri's thunderbolt as it collides with the Pokémon's back, throwing it forwards into a stumble. Jason throws me a calm glance for a moment, then turns his attention back to the Pokémon, spraying it with lead as his arms shake violently with every shell being unloaded at high-velocity.
The Feraligatr roars again, and throws its arms up- just as Jason's weapon stops firing. He looks down at the weapon, and I swear I see him mouth "shit" as he throws the weapon aside. Around the Feraligatr, the ground explodes upwards into a wash of froth, bubbling white then bursting upwards into a column of water all around its body. All three of us watch in awe as the flood lifts upwards, then coms crashing back down all around.
"Surf!" I bark, turning on my heel and breaking into a desperate sprint in the opposite direction. The wave crashes down with an epic crash, and explodes outwards like a great shockwave of foam and water. I spot it hit Jason just as he spins and makes a dash, but it hits him from behind and swallows him up. I don't even stand a chance of escape as the wave hits me, lifting my entire body off the ground and pounding my back. I only just manage to grab hold of Cheri as it hits, and we are both thrown into a wild tumble forwards. The wave subsides quickly, and I fall crashing into the ground again some metres back from where I was picked up with surprisingly little damage.
I recover quickly and rush back into the fight, wholly unsure of what I will do. As I enter the clearing again, one thing becomes immediately evident. I'm alone now. Jason's body lies limp over a tree root on the far side of the clearing. I'm guessing the wave threw him into it and knocked him out. And the Feraligatr is advancing on him.
"Thunderbolt!" I call, throwing my arm at the Pokémon's direction as if I would smite it myself by doing so. Cheri falls from my arms with a cough, but she's back on the assault, launching another crack of lightning at the Pokémon. The blast connects and explodes all through the Pokémon on contact, but it does little more than stall it momentarily, and it continues towards Jason. It's strong!
Suddenly, my priorities have shifted, my mind thrown into a state of panic. I grab my second ball from my waist, and I throw it.
Sumieri explodes from the pokéball seemingly faster than normal, and stands crouched, growling as soon as she's free. "Water pulse!"
She snaps her head back in that way she does, eyes aglow with a terrifying power as a horrible howl cuts the air, and the wind around hisses into her throat. The Feraligatr seems to stumble a bit at her call, and spins on its heel, red eyes wide and staring at her. The wind stirring around her body surges forwards with her attack being unleashed, like its rushing away with her water pulse to push it at full speed.
The surprised Feraligatr is nearly knocked clear off its feet as the pulse explodes in its stomach, throwing it back three unsteady steps as it roars in pain. "Nice! Now use-" I stop, not knowing anything else she can do. "-something!"
"Very nice, Ben." I hear her grunt with somewhat... amusement, of all things. She throws her mouth open again at the Feraligatr, but this time a flash of bright, white light explodes from her maw, like a blast of mist or vapour or someth- ice beam! The freezing burst spews across the Pokémon's chest in an unrelenting torrent, making it flail randomly at the blast as it tries to stop it of swat it away.
"Cheri! Thunderbolt!" I call out, Sumieri still beating at the Pokémon with her ice-beam. Cheri's still at the ready, and no sooner has her name passed my lips, she has launched another crack of lightning.
As the lightning hits, so does something else. From way to the north, a blue ball of energy crashes into the Pokémon from behind, exploding with a remarkable blue and white flash. The air seems to sizzle and wisps of blue energy expel from the point of impact, then dissipate into the moist, misty air. With one last waning moan of pain, the Feraligatr falls forwards and into the mud with a great crash.
I stand panting momentarily as a shape emerges from the north, something over its shoulder.
"You owe me one." Dev grins grimly, approaching from the fog with Amy draped over his shoulder.
"Yeah..." I nod breathlessly, looking at the unconscious psycho on the other side of the swamp. "I owe you one. Nice save."
"There's something wrong with Amy." He says, placing her gently on the ground in front of us. He must have sensed Amy was in trouble and come back for her.
"What?" I kneel beside her quickly. She appears to be conscious, but barely. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know, but she's weak." Dev grimaces. "She's been mumbling and moaning painfully... I don't know what's wrong..." I notice him stifle a tear, wiping at his cheek. "We have to get her to a hospital."
"No." We all turn to stare at Sumieri, forgetting she's out of her ball. "She has succumb to a venom, it is in her system."
"Then what do we do?"
"Nothing." She steps forwards. "I do." We all just seem to stop and stare As Sumieri bends down to Amy, close to her head, and she kisses her. On the forehead. Our eyes all widen collectively as the point of contact glows with a light. Not any colour of light, no- it seems to constantly be changing colours. It fades in and out of different hues of red, blue, pink, green and purple, like the wavering aurora. The light seems to wash over Amy's pale, lifeless body from that point, her skin reflecting a little of the multicolour glow in the tide of energy flowing through her. It washes from head to toes, engulfing her fully in a coat of glowing energy, seeming to ripple and shift like a rainbow in a pool of oil, sickeningly bright, yet somehow beautiful.
And it all stops as Sumieri lifts her lips away. The glow softens quickly, then shrinks away into her skin. Most of the colour seems to have stuck to her skin, bringing life back to it.
"She is awake." Sumieri steps back as Amy's eyes pry open slowly with a murmur.
"Dev?" She mutters, slowly sitting upright and turning over her shoulder. Her eyes don't widen, she's probably having trouble keeping them open as it is. "Suicune?"
"Amy, this is Sumieri." I introduce her calmly. "She is Suicune."
"I am-" Amy drops before I can silence Sumieri.
"Damn it Sumieri..." I mutter, facepalming. "When you meet people don't speak to them..."
"I apologise." She whines, hanging her head. I fix a confused stare on her, eyes widening. She's been weird recently. Her coldness just seems to be... she's almost warming up, to be frank. This is... brilliant... I realise, hiding a smile at her guilt. I should feel bad about smiling at her guilt, but I think this is an exception.
"Who-" Dev's words catch in his throat. "What is that?" I follow his finger, pointing over to the tree in the distance where Jason lies.
"That's Jason." I stand and head towards him at a settled pace. Dev follows behind, a curious look set on his face. "He's the crazy prick who tried to kill that Feraligatr with a machine gun."
"He's... that one..." Dev's eyes widen, glowing blue with his aura sight.
"Uuum... that one?" I cock my head. "Can you be a little more specific about that?"
"He's the Lucario..." Dev murmurs, shaking his head with eyes still wide at something incomprehensible to the rest of us. "The one that jumped out of the helicopter..."
*
There we go: everything has collided.
It's still going to be a while before Jason gets a backstory, next chapter I think I might get around to explaining Sumieri's coldness, a little romance or flirting thrown in (but who?). And I get to include the EPIC gym battle with Brock. This is going to be good fun... and no, he's not like the character from the Anime... imagine the character from the anime grown up a bit more...
EDIT
I've been blind writing, and I've already got the next chapter ready to go, so I'll try post it right after this, and then a little filler thingy I have done.
Hehehe...
All good fun. Do the usual fave/comment/rate etc. if you feel up to it. No pressure. Cookies for comments.
(YAY for pointless encouragement. Does the whole "cookie" thin even work anyhow?)
Do you think there's some kind of website that keeps track of everybody's cyber cookies? That would be cool, and I could go there and exchange my cyber cookies for real cookies and have them delivered... that would kick ass...
All good, just as long as you enjoyed it (I hope. ^^ )
Cya round.
AJAY